Collective action and polycentricity in agroecological sustainability transformations – Exploring theoretical and conceptional issues of state-society relations

Abstract

Agroecology has gained prominence to advance agricultural sustainability transformations. Central to it are: producing along ecological principles, working with the social-ecological context of a farm and community, and empowering local communities (small farmers). Collective action theory is claimed to be well-suited to approach the topic. De Molina et al. (2019) argue that the normative theory of polycentric governance, provides analytical categories to assess whether the institutional configuration of a particular context is conducive to agroecology. This paper examines these conceptual and theoretical-ontological claims. We aim to understand how research informed by normative polycentric governance captures state-society interrelations of agroecological transformations, and whether foundations need adjusting. The inquiry is structured by several questions: What are premises of polycentric governance regarding state-society interrelations of agroecological sustainability transformations? How does polycentric governance theory hold up in view of the contextual characteristics of the state-society relations of the globalized agrifood system? Which conceptual and theoretic-ontological issues need addressing in that regard? What follows for the future research agenda on agricultural sustainability transformations? The paper draws on an desk review of the international political economy of food and agriculture, agroecological sustainability transformations and polycentric governance, as well as field research in the MENA region.